Daniel Dae Kim (‘Hawaii Five-0’) speaks out about pay dispute that prompted him and Grace Park to quit

It was recently reported that “Hawaii Five-0” actors Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park would not be returning for the upcoming eighth season of the CBS crime drama, a remake of the classic series that originally ran for 12 seasons from 1968-1980. It was reported that Kim and Park had been offered 10-15% less than their co-stars Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan, even though they had been with the show from the very beginning. Now Kim has made a statement about the pay dispute directly to his fans on Facebook. Read the whole thing below.

“I will not be returning to ‘Hawaii Five-0’ when production starts next week. Though I made myself available to come back, CBS and I weren’t able to agree to terms on a new contract, so I made the difficult choice not to continue,” he confirmed. “Though transitions can be difficult, I encourage us all to look beyond the disappointment of this moment to the bigger picture. The path to equality is rarely easy. But I hope you can be excited for the future.”

Kim played Detective Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly on the series, while Park played his cousin Kono Kalakaua, both officers for the Honolulu Police Department. But they were both well known to TV fans even before the series. Kim previously starred as Kwon Jin-Soo for all six seasons of the ABC sci-fi drama “Lost,” and Park appeared as Cylon clones Sharon Valerii and Sharon Agathon on “Battlestar Galactica.”

What do you think of Kim and Park’s departures from the show? Do you think they should have been paid equally for their work? Discuss in the comments below, and join the discussion on this and more with your fellow TV fans in our forums.

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